Arsenal’s “What if Scenario’s”

I am AA’s 2nd oldest contributor (behind JC who is our non writing elder statesman). I’m also an eternal optimist and I see more good than bad in our team, management and club.

Arsene and Arsenal come under a lot of criticism; the Red Tops compete for readership with their fictitious and often outrageous headlines about our club, management and our players. These headlines are fodder for the more gullible supporters who in turn repeat the “stories” they have read and they get repeated so often that they become “Red Top” folk lore.

It’s a seemingly endless cycle and now we are into reading and hearing all of the pre-season doom that is being spouted about our lack of transfers etc – even though we are only 18 days into a 63 day transfer period.

So I thought about a few what if scenario’s.

What if we sign no more players in this window?

What if we sign players late in the window?

What if we go a season with no injuries?

What if Arsene extends his contract?

What if Arsene does not extend his contract?

What if we only finish in the top four?

What if we finish outside the top four?

What if we only win the FA Cup?

What if we win nothing?

What if we change ownership?

I will offer my opinions during the day.

GunnerN5

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 19th, 2016 at 10:30 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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1. Same old useless transfer policy
2. be better than signing no more
3. won’t happen but we could win the league if so
4. I will cry (thanks but time to go)
5. the right thing to do as have gone stale
6. the normal
7. possible if no more signings
8. its a trophy
9. we’ve got used to it
10. Great, get someone who wants to win things

To put my hopes and aspirations in their simplest form, it’s about entertainment.

I really don’t care who the owner is, manager, players (unless they are born and bred Gunners), trophies (although they are good things, and the FA Cup big one) but exciting games, exciting footballers and goals are imperative

Thanks LB for your comments, my stance on my club and manager since AW was signed has not changed; nor have my feelings towards the embittered folks who spout doom even this early in the summer transfer window. But I have mellowed in my reactions to their nonsensical mutterings.

I am an unabashed supporter of Arsene and Arsenal at the start of each season my hope is that we win everything we play for – just the same as every loyal fan would. However I don’t start throwing inane criticism at our manager and players when things go wrong.

I love the game of football and I fully understand that we will win games we should have lost and we will lose games we should have won – that happens to all teams.

If I only gained enjoyment when we won trophy’s then i would have been disappointed in 52 of the seasons I’ve supported our team – as we have only won trophy’s in 18 of the past 72 seasons.

Like all supporters I get upset when we lose and fail to win championships that were seemingly in our grasp but I will never throw our manager into the fire over circumstances that are outside of his control.

I just deal with the outcome differently than those that beat the drums of doom.

There is one statement that answers all those questions and it’s simply this:-

‘we are still the Arsenal’

Transfers or not, we should still get behind the boys and look forward to an exciting season of ups and downs. I day we should enjoy Arsene’s good and bad points whilst he is here as it will be a sad day for football in this country when he leaves.

We worry too much and also believe too much in the God of new signings. We know from the Manc clubs that spending loads on shiny new stars is not necessarily the way to success. I am looking fwd to Akpom, Theo and Iwobi, and possibly Sanogo, playing in attack at the start of the season. If Wenger believes they are ready the who are we to ask for new players?

Sit back, have a glass of fine wine and let the preseason commence. What if we are top of the league after five games and Ollie, Alexis, Mesut, Rambo and Koz are set to return? 😘

Just remember really liking what I saw of Jeff. Hope to see more of him in the warm up games.

Eddie
Despite supply and demand stuff, there is absolutely no way Hig is worth 78m, but still could be the only serious quality striker available to anyone this summer, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he went for 50m

It’s that guy from Toulouse. Wissam Ben Yedder. I think he’d be great for us. Apparently West Ham and Leicester are after him, and he could go for as little as 10m euros because he’s out of contract next year.

Little risk at that price, and he looks like he’s calm in front of goal and can finish with either foot. He can also score from free kicks. More than anything, what I like is that he isn’t really flashy. He can do the tricks and flicks, but he seems efficient. See I’m an expert at gauging players on youtube 😛

Backup option, Bacca.

I think they’d be better for us than Higuain, and that money can then be spent on buying Mahrez or another goalscoring wide forward.

Plans designed to reduce “intolerable behaviour” by players and managers in English football have been announced.

In a statement, the Premier League, English Football League and Football Association said poor conduct has reached “unacceptable levels”.

Starting this season, red cards will be issued to players who confront match officials and use offensive language or make gestures towards them.

Behaviour within the technical areas will also be more rigorously enforced.

Not one player has been sent off in the Premier League for insulting or abusive language towards a match official in the last five seasons.

But Premier League chairman Richard Scudamore said there has been concern “for some time” that players have been “overstepping the mark”.

“It is our collective position that these types of behaviour should no longer be tolerated,” he added.

“Things happen in the heat of the moment during fast and highly competitive football. We still want to see the passion fans enjoy and demand, but players and managers have to be aware there are lines that should not be crossed.”

Offences which could earn players a yellow card
◾Visibly disrespectful behaviour to any match official;
◾An aggressive response to decisions;
◾Confronting an official face to face;
◾Running towards an official to contest a decision;
◾Offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures towards match officials;
◾Physical contact with any match official in a non-aggressive manner;
◾A yellow card for at least one player when two or more from a team surround a match official.

I will be the first to admit that I don’t know too much about the prowess of a lot of football players. I watch mostly PL and CL games so I don’t get to see a lot of the players on a regular basis and therefore it’s difficult to express an opinion.

I read a lot about us lagging behind in the current transfer market – but not knowing all of the players I cannot see where.

I honestly don’t mean to be contrairy here but I think that Aladyce is a really good choice. Finally we seem to have realised that the standard of the England football team is on a par with something like Sunderland and as such why not get someone who knows how to work with a team of that standard.

What would be the point of getting someone like Jurgen Klinsman (that is just an example) an air fairy, flowerly type who would’nt know how on earth to deal with lower level football which England’s national team has become.

I am quite excited to think they may have actually got someone who might know how to deal with the shower of shite this country’s pride and joy really is.

Allardyce as England manager, well that kind of sums this country up at the moment in all aspects …… backward looking and thinking a bit of passionate rhetoric is better than a calm considered plan.

Our transfer business bothers me little, I’ll still support the club.

What I think some miss is the fact that Arsene is always planning ahead, defenders like Chambers and Holding are rarely signed by our financial rivals. There’s a reason why these youngsters are better off at Arsenal, look at Powell’s signing and exit from ManUre to understand in full, highly rated youngster at Crewe leaving with no contract after being bought for a fair sum of cash.

We need young players to complement the 25 named players we also need homegrown talent, I wouldn’t mind gambling that some of our older homegrown players will be exiting THOF soon.

hello GiE! No, we don’t need any more teenagers. Very few of them made it to the starting XI, waste of money if you ask me. How many youngsters are recruited every year and how much does it cost to keep them there for several years? And it can take years before it becomes obvious that they are yet another expensive mistake.

I’d say if you put all the money spent for 10 teenagers you could buy one proven player and avoid all the hassle with bringing him up

I was thinking about referees clamping down on bad behaviour of the players. I wonder when will we see punishing refs for their shocking performances? It is crazy that they get away with complete incompetence game after game, and go to work as if nothing happened.

Diversification is the risk mitigation strategy used by stock traders. And by football clubs.

You invest in a bit of everything. If the ‘market’ is low, you can buy established stars, no problem. But look at us, or even other clubs now. They have the money, but they simply can’t get the requisite talent for it.

100m+ for Pogba, and 320k p/w? Tell me how many young players that would be worth? And what are the odds that one of those young players would turn out to be Pogba (while the others would be sold on for some value too) The chance is more than good. How do I know? Pogba WAS one of those kids.

I think Sam will bring some energy and hunger but nothing else to be honest…The guy has not managed any world class players neither has he won trophies as a player or as a coach.

I hope that Sam has the good idea to get a backroom staff with experienced players and winning technical staff.

I would take Seaman – Ferdinand – Scholes or Lampard – Shearer
as part of the backroom staff. They said they wanted to help, they had successful carreers, played under the best coaches and did rather well for England.

To be honest – I was surprised that Pelligrini was not even in the running.

shard -” Tell me how many young players that would be worth? ” What does it matter that you could get 1000 youngsters for that money if none of them is any good. It could be a complete waste of money. But if you pay for Pogba the results are more or less guaranteed.

Like I said Eddie. Diversification. It’s not one or the other. If you buy only youngsters, you lose out, because there’s more ‘volatility’. But if you buy only top stars, a more ‘stable’ investment, you lose out on the return on investment, meaning your money isn’t doing as much as it could for you.

Buying youngsters, upcoming mid-level players, and established stars. A team needs to do it all.

You don’t invest in just one kind of asset to form a good portfolio. Simples.

When people say Arsenal can’t attract the big names anymore. Can someone tell me when exactly Arsenal attracted the very best players in the world?

And if you’re discounting Ozil and Sanchez, then you must discount Bergkamp and Henry because both were pushed out of their clubs Inter and Juve respectively.

Arsenal do not (and should not – at this time) operate on the same model as ManU and ManCity and Chelsea. They have more money than us. If we’re competing ONLY on the money, we’ll lose every single time.

Instead Arsenal operate based on players who fit the system, are relatively unknown but upcoming talents (if we can get them), and above all, who want to play here. Our self imposed salary cap seems to be around 150-160k/wk. We’re not paying 250k to Mkhitaryan or a 35 year old striker who isn’t the sort of player we need anyway.

This is just the financial reality. We still got Ozil and Alexis, and Cech and Xhaka, and Cazorla before that over the last few years, so we aren’t doing too badly.

TA – I don’t want Pogba, I am just trying to belittle the youth projects.

shard – I don’t agree. If you play it safe and have a few youngsters and not-the-best experienced player you will always have mediocre results. You don’t accumulate if you don’t speculate. Either buy the most expensive player and sod the youth project, or concentrate on youngsters and invest the lot in them. Each way you may get very lucky with almost guaranteed results from the expensive player.

Buying the established stars is actually the ‘safe’ way. As you say, less risk. But it is also unsustainable. Even City and Chelsea with their unlimited funds, don’t follow the galactico model, and they invest heavily in their academies. Regardless of whether they use the players right now or not, having that procession of talent is important for their future growth.

Thanks for the post GN5. Sorry I haven’t got the time to answer each point individually but a more general opinion based on some of the comments.

I do to a degree agree with RC78 that our attractiveness right now to the best established players has significantly reduced. personally I think last summers transfer window put some nails in our coffin. We put the handbrake on the progress we had been making in developing a team that could seriously, and regularly, challenge for the EPL and ECL.

I feel this has damaged our reputation to some degree and could turn out to be a bad error of judgement. Last summer was the time to strike (no pun intended) for that top striker. We procrastinated and it is now costing us.

Further I feel both Ozil and Sanchez have moved from being convinced about Arsenal’s ambition to being very uncertain. They don’t seem to be extending their contracts and are likely watching what AW does before committing. That means a stellar addition is likely required to appease them that we can challenge. Other clubs likely know this and in this years madly competitive TW (as oppose to last years) we can be held over a barrel.

If players like Ozil and Sanchez don’t like what they see and agitate for a move and we have to let them go, we will not only have to still find what we need right now but also cover for their departures. This all against the backdrop of us portraying an image of not being able to keep our top players thus further denting our reputation as an ambitious club that the top players should seriously consider.

I don’t think we will manage to do this and we will take a 3-4 year backwards step and then rely on another steady rebuilding process likely under another manager.

When it comes to who can spend what I don’t feel it is true that we can’t spend what other clubs do, it is more that we won’t. On a strict and genuine financial basis few can compete with us and few can also compete with the combined wealth of our 2 biggest share-holders. For me this is not strictly true and it is easy to see when you look at it this way why so many fans are disgruntled and perceive a distinct lack of ambition from our club relative to others.

I do think we are in a relatively delicate and perhaps dangerous situation right now which could go either way, and I do think that we have created this situation largely ourselves with our actions (or lack thereof) 12- 18 months ago.

I disagree that it is a matter of momentum in the transfer market, My understanding of it is that there were simply a lesser talent pool available last summer. I also think a lot of players were reluctant to move prior to the Euros. This year already in the striker market, there has been much more movement.

However, you are not wrong that it could go either way. That is simply because we are on the threshold. Look at how Liverpool have fallen, how Spurs have never been able to climb up to where we are. In fact, in Europe so many more clubs have fallen down than risen to true giant status. Some, like Juventus, Dortmund and Atletico Madrid are now back or rising again. Others like the two Milans have fallen quite hard. So yeah, it could go either way for us. But Arsenal have been consistently rising up as a club over the past 20 years. So, in organic growth terms (of which losing players is a part) Arsenal are the best at it. Hence, my lack of worry.

Le Coq, Rambo, Bellerina, Iwobi and Jack is a good return from our youth/buy early project.

Furthermore, we actually have a lot of stars now and do not need to add more than one or two per season. Which PL club had the most players in the Euros semi-finals? I cannot be arsed checking this but I bet it is Arsenal.

Forget about shopping and start emptying the cupboards… a lovely meal may ensue! 😀

Thanks Shard, and you are correct in your analysis of my comment regarding a loss of momentum in the transfer market. I do feel this is the case but it is not only this and it is not about momentum for pure momentum’s sake.

I don’t feel that we need a consistent momentum in the transfer market every season just for the sake of it. I am a believer that a certain squad can mature to the point that you can have a 3-4 season peak period where no significant senior additions are required. Under these circumstances it is perfectly reasonable to only be bringing in the (cheaper) ones for the medium and longer term future.

We are not in this position. It has been pointed out, and I will again, that the purpose of the stadium move was to compete with the very biggest teams and to ensure we were one of the top clubs that could regularly compete for the biggest prizes.

I feel we started a process in the 2013-2014 season, starting with Ozil, where we could start to add those top quality players and develop a team that could win these big prizes. We added Sanchez the following season which seemed to indicate this was the direction we were heading in.

I said at the end of the 2013-2014 season that we needed a quicker CB than Per to partner Kos, a good DM with greater mobility than Arteta, and a top striker that had more pace than Giroud. This doesn’t make me right but this was the season when we had suffered those 3-4 hammerings and those 3 were generally a consistent feature in those games.

I felt we sat too deep defensively due to the fear of balls in behind Per, we had a lack of defensive protection in front of that back 4 due to Arteta’s lack of mobility (despite his obvious technical qualities), and opposition defences were able to play a high line and compress in our half because Giroud (who had just finished his 2nd season with us) could not threaten behind.

Moving on to the start of last season and now this one coming, how much have we actually addressed?

Le Coq and his merits to the team seemed to be found by accident rather than by design half way through last season. Ok fair enough, and we seem to have this area sorted now with other additions. Have we really found the answer to the right top CD to partner Kos? I am not so sure. But, the biggest problem area as I see it is with the striker and has been since RVP left.

Some disagree I know, and I am not an anti Giroud blogger, just that I see his merits as being a back up striker or impact sub at the highest level. This for me has been apparent for at least 2 years after 2 seasons of observing him and how the team functioned with him.

It is clear that Arsene doesn’t fancy either Sanchez or Walcott for the role and Welbeck, who I do like, is still not a proven top striker. Wasn’t he also injured heading into last season?

The need for a top striker was apparent at least 2 years back but we did nothing last year about it. It depends on how you see it. There is the nothing available at that time view, or as Arsene puts it, nothing available better than what I have got.

I don’t really subscribe to that because I think if you go in hard and quick enough with a decent fee then players become available all of a sudden. we are consistently seeing other clubs getting players that weren’t apparently available.

personally I feel that Arsene has over-estimated what he already had and has as such procrastinated in the TW last year, so yes, I do feel that we have lost critical momentum in the TW, starting from last year, which is now perhaps having a knock on effect this year. It is like we have started the project well then taken a holiday on it, and I don’t think this view or impression is lost on others either. I do feel this momentum was a necessary one and not one just for the sake of buying players.

It will be harder now, and far more expensive, to regain that momentum and I am not sure we have the desire to do, and possibly pay, what is necessary to regain it and convince the top players to come to us, and possibly more importantly our existing top players that this is where they should stay.

What may have looked slightly over the odds last summer would look a good price this one so I feel Arsene and the board have badly misjudged the transfer market, and the right time when we should have gone in strong and be the active big player. As I say not irreclaimable but very difficult now I feel.

We have probably just signed Higuain as I type just to make me look rather silly 🙂

I’d love to see wenger build a squad capable of winning the league. But if you’re only willing to buy what’s better than what you have you need to spend, BIG. And since we won’t spend big….. and because we’re afraid to hold back the denilsons of the world….(did anyone catch the inherent contradiction?),,,,,

There is a picture of Tony Adams early on in his Arsenal career, taken in late 1983 when he was still 17. His arms are crossed and his mouth is frowning, as if to demonstrate his meanness, but the eyes give away his youth and inexperience. Adam’s Arsenal shirt has an exaggerated V neck, as was the style, made by Umbro and with a sponsor (JVC) for only the second season. Behind him are the concrete steps and metal pens ubiquitous on the terraces of the 1980s. A terraced house peeps over the top of the stand, providing an illicit Saturday afternoon vantage point.
There are many more photos of Adams’ last game for Arsenal, a win against Everton at Highbury in 2002 during which the Premier League title victory – and with it the league and FA Cup double – was confirmed. Adams is pictured with Patrick Vieira and embracing Arsene Wenger in front of an all-seater, all adoring Highbury. The club badge, shirt sponsor (SEGA) and kit manufacturer (Nike) have all changed. Once the fresh-faced teenager, Adams is now Arsenal’s wizened old head. His face has been weathered first by football, but more so by life.
The length of Adams’ Arsenal service is magnificent in itself. Only David O’Leary played more games than his 669, and he remains the only league title-winning captain across three decades, having been made Arsenal’s youngest ever skipper at the age of 21 in 1988. Adams is also the only England player to make tournament appearances in three separate decades, and was the last England player ever to score at the old Wembley. He captained his country between 1992 and 1996, and won ten major honours at club level. Half of Arsenal’s post-war league titles were won with Adams wearing the armband.
Yet it is not the length of Adams’ 14-year captaincy that is so impressive, but the changes he oversaw. The defender was leader of his club through a time of great upheaval in English football, the increase in technology, commercialisation and the influx of foreign players all providing their own tests. Adams didn’t just survive amid this swirling sea; he thrived in it.
Nowhere more so were those differences noticed than at Arsenal, English football’s bellwether club, where the old-fashioned, working-class culture of Division One was replaced by the forward-thinking Premier League new world order. The progress of the English game and the advances in nutrition and sports science could be detailed purely using the case study of Arsenal’s George Graham and Arsene Wenger eras. Adams’ retirement finally marked the end of Arsenal’s ‘old guard’.
The best on-pitch leaders become the embodiment of their manager’s message, with a little of their own personality thrown in. They are essentially messengers, conduits between coach and squad but also perennially required to set the example. Rarely has that been more emphatic in English football than in the case of Adams.
Under Graham, Adams was a no-nonsense defender, the brave leader prepared to fight on the front line and get hurt for the cause; no war analogy is too much. Adams was the leader of the most efficient defensive line in English football, an organisational structure that seeped into popular culture, such was its success. ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’ was not just a chant; it was an ethos.
Under Wenger, Adams changed. After initial scepticism over Arsenal’s recruitment decision, he embraced the Frenchman’s dismantling of the squad’s extra-curricular lifestyle, again setting an example to the other players. The fire in his performances was never dampened, but Adams became a ball-playing central defender, stepping up to distribute the ball in addition to laying his body on the line when required (which was far less often). Adams’ reading of the game had always been sensational, masking his lack of pace, but Wenger fine-tuned those strengths. Wenger and Adams were the odd couple, but it was a long and happy marriage.
This multi-functionality of Adams can best be demonstrated in two quotes, from Wenger and Paul Ince. “He’s a colossus,” Ince said. “Proper centre half. Men-of-men. In our England team we were all men, we were all big characters and big men but he was men-of-men.” “Simply a professor of defence,” said Wenger. Find you a captain who can do both.
“I think Tony Adams was a United player in an Arsenal shirt to be honest with you,” said Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson. “I thought he would have been absolutely perfect for United. I tried to sign him when he was 19 and in the reserves but there was no chance.”
Adams’ skill and loyalty alone made him a fan favourite, but it was his humility and love for Arsenal made him an icon. ‘If I wasn’t playing I’d be in the stands with my mates’ is a well-versed cliche, but rings true. “Play for the name on the front of the shirt, and they’ll remember the name on the back,” is Adams’ most famous quote; remember they did.
“It’s my football club, Arsenal Football Club, and when I get an opportunity and if I’m needed and if I’m ready then I’d love to be of service,” Adams said in 2013. “When I’m needed, when I’m wanted. I’ll make the tea there!” Arsenal was – and is – in his blood.

Yet the story of Tony Adams is only partially complete by celebrating his on-field magnificence; it is also a story of depression, mental illness and addiction. The cover of Adams’ autobiography does not picture him holding a trophy aloft or embracing supporters but features a simple, close-up portrait, staring into the eyes of the reader as if using them as a mirror. The appendix begins not with his career statistics or England record, but the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Adams is a man who has not merely come through sporting tests, but addiction, divorce and prison.
“I don’t actually like people,” Adams once told an interviewer. “I’m a loner and if I had my way I’d just walk my dogs every day, never talk to anyone and then die. I do get depressed, I’m a depressive type of guy and that’s depressing for me.” It is an emphatic reminder that addiction is not the condition as a whole, merely its most visible element. Addiction is the representation and result of mental instability and, in Adams’ case, crippling self-doubt. Alcohol became not just a drug for Adams, but a coping mechanism. At the highest level of sport, pressure becomes suffocating as your personality and reputation are constantly on parade. “There was no pleasure in anything,” Adams recalls. You drink to remember simpler times, and you drink to forget the present.
On May 6, 1990, Adams crashed his Ford Sierra into a wall when more than four times over the legal drink-drive limit. Later that year, he was sentenced to four months in prison, and served two of those. Adams still regularly visits prisons to offer advice to inmates and share the lessons he learned from his own addiction.
Even then, Adams’ problem was not managed or even highlighted. Such was alcohol’s inherent role in English football culture that many supposed Adams had simply paid the price for having too much on a night out. The fabric of football in the 1970s and 1980s initiated alcohol dependence, and then promptly allowed the problem to fester. Some could take it or leave it, but others were not so lucky; they never stood a chance.
There was a bleaker reason for Adams’ alcoholism to stay hidden. In some circles, depression is a modern phenomenon. To reveal your mental illness in the testosterone-charged world of the Division One changing room would have been a concession or admission. Even those recent sufferers (cricket’s Marcus Trescothick and Jonathan Trott are good examples) are treated with an air of suspicion, as if depression is an easy excuse rather than a debilitating, and potentially life-threatening, illness.
Thankfully, attitudes are changing. There is an odd dichotomy whereby every new publicised case is incredibly sad for the individual, but good for the greater understanding of the condition. Unfortunately for Adams, to have revealed his illness in 1990 would have been to risk stigmatisation and thus his entire career.
It was September 1996 when Adams announced his alcoholism publicly, and revealed that he had sought treatment. He became one of the most high-profile addicts of his time, speaking of his new-found love for Shakespeare and the piano. Five years later, and Adams was still leading Arsenal as they entered a double-winning season. A career and a life had been saved.
At a time when too many people still believed that fame, fortune and sporting success was a blanket against depression rather than a factor in it, it took an awful lot to be revered by the masses despite his condition. By merging sporting success, addiction rehabilitation and mental illness, Adams became the poster boy for recovery.
Not only that, but Adams understood the impact his redemption could have, if utilised appropriately. He saw the need for a dedicated environment where sportspeople could address and manage their mental instabilities, from the comparatively manageable to the life-limiting and destructive, while young athletes would be given proactive education to spot the danger signs. In 2000, he formed the Sporting Chance clinic.
“Sporting Chance is absolutely up there with all the medals I’ve ever won, the England cap and everything,” says Adams. “I’m very proud of what I created here.” And so he should be. Kenny Sansom and Dean Windass are just two former players who believe that the clinic saved their lives.
“You’re talking about a man who could drink and get pissed,” Adams said in an interview with the Irish Independent. “I had no self-esteem. I had suppressed every emotion in booze. I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t know how to handle life, sex, everything. I had to learn absolutely everything, I was a child again so when I sobered up I got to know myself.” That he did all that while serving so magnificently as Arsenal captain shows incredible resolve and strength of character, but is also a testament to his natural talent as a central defender.
If it seems demeaning or uncharitable to focus on Adams’ off-field issues during a celebration of his iconic status, I take my lead only from the man himself. The final paragraph of his autobiography marries the two together:
‘My views on winning have changed a lot,’ Adams writes. ‘Today I am not just Tony Adams the footballer, I am Tony Adams the human being. I do my best to treat myself and other people with respect. In that there is also victory. Winning on the field is sweet, of course, but in addition, as far as I’m concerned, with each day that I do not take a drink, I will always be a winner.’
And, for as long as his beloved club play in red and white, Adams will always be an icon. He is the true ‘Mr Arsenal’.

Hi Wally.
I know I didn’t expand on that,but all I was suggesting by referencing that quote is that investing in youth isn’t always a waste of time as Eddie seemed to be suggesting.
To go one step further, every one of today’s superstars, was at one time, a youth player.

I don’t think we’re actually very far off in how we view the club. I can agree with most of your points (Except Arteta in 2013-14. He might have been slow, but he was awesome that year, and the main reason for Ramsey’s miracle year)

I agree we have needed a striker. However, I also think that there aren’t many pure centre forwards available in the game these days. Perhaps its the fact that football has recently seen a tactical shift to 1 CF rather than 2, and a lot of the players of today grew up playing in a 2 striker system. We did sign Alexis and he is a goal threat.

But honestly, last season, we didn’t even need a world class striker or whatever. Just a capable backup/competitor to Giroud. Our finishing was the lowest its been in the Wenger years, despite a high chance creation (and high quality chance creation) I think the system worked (even defensively, until the attack’s failings told) So, I’m less fussed about a world class striker. I just want a capable striker who can play as a lone centre forward but offers something different to Giroud.

Wenger’s faith in Walcott and the Ox backfired there. I remember him talking about needing to score 10 extra goals, and I believe he entrusted Walcott with that responsibility. Honestly, it is the first (and I hope only) season I have seen from Arsenal where so many players under-performed. The fact that we still finished second and were top for the first half of the season only adds to the frustration.

I don’t believe Wenger won’t sign a forward this year. As I said, I am not fussed about it being world class. I don’t think there are many, and none are coming to us (no point getting beat up about it. There is a natural order of things and we are objectively, not in the top tier yet). I’d rather we signed a competent striker and also buy an upgrade on the wing. Even if that means selling one of Theo, Ox or Campbell. However, I’m less confident that the latter will happen.

I don’t see CB as a problem area. Per is slow but his experience is still important there. As long as Gabriel or Chambers can play the ball out the back, I think we’ll be ok. If not, then perhaps sign a CB there and send Chambers on loan. I don’t know whether the imminent Holding signing is for the first team immediately. He does look like he’s born to play the ball-playing CB role. Don’t forget, Xhaka also strengthens our defensive capabilities.

Pre season game tomorrow. Finally. I’m excited about this season. Hopefully we’ll see some good football and a title win.

PS. Keep an eye on Akpom, Gnabry and Sanogo in pre season. I believe one of them will play himself into the first team. 🙂

A lot of “what if” scenarios my friend. This is like attempting to get an attractive but insecure woman into bed. What if you don’t respect me in the morning Terry? What if your wife finds out Terry? What if you think about Nigel Farage Terry and get disturbed?

What ever happens doesn’t bother me. I suffer withdrawal from not going to games so just want the season to start.

My Arsenal stream was really clear best I have ever seen a game on my computer. The problem for me was that I couldn’t get near the screen until well into the second half. Saw the Ox’s goal though, well taken.

– Bielik, Reine-Adelaide, Chris Willock and Zelalem join up with the senior squad.
– Macey and Sanogo stayed back.
– Gnabry and Asano joined up with the Germany and Japan teams respectively for Olympics football, thus are not involved.
– Jenkinson and Welbeck remain long term absentees through injury.
– Özil, Alexis, Giroud, Koscielny and Ramsey are rested and absentees following their international commitments.
– Szczesny is rumoured to re-join Roma on loan.

==========

Bonus:

“Some player” could be moving to Arsenal (in the works); The complicated deal either might or not go through, with various personnel involved.

I liked what I saw of Willock for the few minutes he was on the pitch. I hadn’t seen him before, pretty good.

Zalalem showed that there is still an awful lot more to come from him.

I agree with Eddie that Oxlaide-Chamberlain looked defiant. You can sell me if you want, I don’t care I am going to succeed. Good attitude.

Theo, Theo, I only saw the second half, maybe he was really good in the first 45.

Mertasacker offers calm maturity, I like the BFG; he gets a lot of leeway with me.

No wonder Wenger brought Xhaka, when you watch Coquelin slide around the pitch you just know that he is a cruciate knee ligament casualty waiting to happen.

Chambers at right back, good cover, no problem there, same for Gibbs on the other side, all good if they stay that is.

Bielik, hmmmmm, I must be missing what is supposed to be happening there. Of the little I have seen of Holding he seems a lot lot better in every aspect of that central defensive roll and he will have Tony Adams to guide him. Looking forward to watching that one unfold.

Campbell looked spritely, Iwobi changed positions and stared playing deep, not sure what that was about, you really get the feeling that Wenger has high hopes for him.

I wish I had seen Jeff ahhhhh, I have just had a thought maybe AFC.com will repeat the game..later……….

It appears that on Arsenal player you can see the entire 2nd half or highlights of the Lens game – not much use to you if you’ve already seen the 2nd half.

Theo in the 1st half was constantly trying to get around the 6’5ish defender Ba and had little success. It was typical of many of his performances – it failed to impress, even his speed was not very effective up against Ba – who seemed to take only 1 stride to Walcott’s two.

Chris Willock looks like a player who will make the grade; his brother Joseph also plays for our youth team as a midfielder.

The worrying thing for me is that if we were just picking our best 11 players available then we’d be looking at a team full of midfielders. Our squad is really unbalanced even with those players included.

Regards lack of goals, without Giroud, Sanchez, Özil, Welbeck, Koscielny and Ramsey it’s inevitable we will have a line up short on goals as they were 6 of our top 7 scorers last season! Walcott being the other. We really do need some new players before the season starts.

“Arsenal have made a forward signing their main priority during this transfer window, and after they failed to land their main target, Gonzalo Higuain, it appears that the club are weary about publicising their next move”.

“Arsenal are working on a secret name, not yet revealed, and the recent trip to Germany of some club members could mean something.

I actually really like the look of this Asano guy. Looks like he’s got some real talent. Obviously we need a new first team striker for the next few seasons, but that doesn’t mean the lad can’t become an important player in future. I just hope Wenger keeps him away from the first team for a bit because if he plays he will end up on the wrong side of a lot of fans if he doesn’t score goals straight away.

Chas : “I think you should stop buying all that merchandise you’re so fond”

That’s the last bloody straw.

I’m going to the shop and buying the full kit, and yes I do mean shorts and socks as well, then I’m turning up to the pub and sitting next to you like I’m your best friend, then walk right next to you to the ground like you respect me in my kit.

haha Didit, is that a young didit / old didt photo comparison? Kind of like a before and after (1975)….

N.N awash with news that we had a £29m bid for Lacazette turned down. In the current market I don’t blame Lyon. Someone else mentioned that WHU had a £35m bid turned down for him recently. Can’t believe that as it would make our lesser bid a bit puzzling.

It appears Lyon want £40m. Probably not an unrealistic figure this summer. What do we need, £80-85m to get both Mahrez and Lacazette. Can’t we just do that???

I knew that LB and most of the AA bloggers also tend to have more positive/understanding attitudes. I’m just expressing a more general frustration at the media and blogs that thrive on doom and gloom – they are just not my cup of tea.

Why support a team when all you can do is revel on the negative press – it counter intuitive to me.

I really don’t understand how I and others are called doomers by some fans.(Eddie will know what I mean).

We payed 30 million for the Swiss lad which hopefully will be a good purchase then 3.5 on a couple of youngsters from Bolton and Japan and in every other alledged players we go for who has class we miss out usually because we don’t offer the going rate or they don’t want to play for us or inparticular AW but rather go to a club not in the CL.
It really speaks volumes as how the respect and the way we do business has been flushed down the drain.
if we buy the two players we stll need it will be because either no one else has bid or aren’t interested, or they aren’t top quality/

Gazidis is already spouting his usual rubbish not once but twice in two days.”we are active in the market blah blah blah”.

If I didn’t suport the club so much I wouldn’t be so annoyed and frustrated by the people in charge.

How can that be dooming these are facts we are crap at securing a deal and again buy potential, the latest being the Nigerian kid.

We keep buying these misfits hoping one in twenty might make the first team bench.It’s pathetic

It could be seen as ‘dooming’ because what you and many others are doing is believing all the rumours about the club going for players and then using it as ‘fact’ that Arsenal are shit at transfers and don’t get the players they go for.

As Arsene said, the club like to keep things secret, so when a newspaper says we are going for a player they usually have zero proof of that and are just guessing. Then when we don’t get said player that we never went for, people moan about it and use it as something to bash the club with.

We all have the same frustrations that the club keep things under wraps but the actual facts show we’ve bid for Vardy and Lacazette so far this window, so that would suggest we are trying to get the job done.

I realise that and one only has to look at Newsnow every few hours,but I have been around long enough to know that rumours are often for a particular site to get hits but there are are a fair percentage of players that we do miss out on because we won’t pay the going rate.
Vardy might have been a god buy or not but preferred to stay at Leicester.We have more money than ever and football is big business and IMO we don’t handle things very well but unfortunately the main culprit is Kroenke as he conducts the orchestra.

“in every other alledged players we go for who has class we miss out usually because we don’t offer the going rate or they don’t want to play for us or inparticular AW but rather go to a club not in the CL.
It really speaks volumes as how the respect and the way we do business has been flushed down the drain.
if we buy the two players we stll need it will be because either no one else has bid or aren’t interested, or they aren’t top quality/”

every start of the season I enjoy seeing Arsenal sitting on top of the table. Now I see Bournemouth sitting above us. Why have they used AFC at the front? I guess they aspire to be Arsenal Football Club…

I’m enjoying a nice cup of tea from my half full cup and reading my favourite Red Top which is Arsenal.com which is the definitive source of accurate information about our club.

Here is this mornings main story on Arsenal.com.

Wenger on Mertesacker and Lacazette

on Mertesacker…

We have bad news on Per Mertesacker. He played in Lens on Friday night, he finished the game and had a little pain on his knee. We found out the next day that it was much more serious than expected. He had surgery yesterday in Germany. It all went well. I know you will ask me for how long he will be out. I don’t know that, it’s [some] months, but I don’t know [exactly] how long he will be out for.

on Xhaka…

He will play a part in the game. He is a bit short fitness-wise, because he just came back last week.

on how injury to Mertesacker complicates defensive options…

We have to look for an option to get a bit more experience. We will see some of our young centre backs on Thursday as well. With Per being out, we are a bit short on the experience front and we are looking to bring somebody in.

on Lyon issuing statement regarding bid for Lacazette…

Lyon is responsible for their own statements. On the transfer front, I think the best [option] is always to keep as secret as possible. If we sign somebody, we will announce it. But I cannot tell you much more on that.

Wenger on Zelalem…

Last season he was on loan at Glasgow Rangers, where he did quite well. He is a player with top quality. He might take a bit longer to mature because he was physically a little bit behind on body structure but I’m sure he will be a great player. He [matured a bit slowly] physically but overall I’m convinced that he will make a great career. Will he play? Certainly a part of the game as well.

That’s a perfect example of what I was talking about. Where in that article have Lyon said they want £40m? They haven’t, it’s just a made up number that the newspaper has printed. The statement that Lyon released said they don’t want to sell him.

If we don’t buy him though fans will say that Wenger didn’t want to pay the extra £10m which is a load of bollocks created by artificial press stories.

Sky Sports reported that the 29.3m offer took place last month, before West Ham had their higher offer rejected. So which media outlet is wrong?

Also, Lyon’s statement refuted a newspaper’s story about how much money was offered by Arsenal. Now was that paper wrong, or are Lyon lying/bending the truth? Did the newspaper include the add ons while Lyon don’t (This is why Martial’s reported price varied between 35 and 65m pounds) And why would any other paper know what happened with any more accuracy?

Or do you just consider the worst interpretation of Arsenal as the truth because that is what fits in with your beliefs? Which is ok. Not necessarily unreasonable. But ‘the truth’ it is not.

‘if we buy the two players we stll need it will be because either no one else has bid or aren’t interested, or they aren’t top quality/’

It’s statements like that that I think qualify as being in the doom territory. Even if Arsenal buy the players you think they should, you don’t seem willing to give them 100% credit for it. You qualify it so that even if Arsenal do what you want you still want to be able to have a dig ie no one else wanted them or their not that good